Synopses & Reviews
From the acclaimed author of
Stuffed (“Vibrantly textured . . . taut, sharp”—
The New York Times Book Review; “Gorgeous . . . Unnervingly delightful”—
The Miami Herald) comes an intimate, richly illustrated memoir, written with charm and panache, that juxtaposes two fascinating, very different lives—an iconoclastic Italian designer and the author’s own mother—to explore how a girl fashions herself into a woman.
Audrey Morgen Volk, an upper-middle-class New Yorker, was a great beauty and the polished hostess at her family’s garment district restaurant. Elsa Schiaparelli—“Schiap”—the haute couture designer whose creations shocked the world, broke every rule, blurred the line between fashion and art, and believed that everything, even a button, has the potential to delight.
Audrey’s daughter Patricia read Schiap’s autobiography, Shocking Life, at a tender age, and was transformed by it. These two women—volatile, opinionated, and brilliant each in her own way—offered Patricia contrasting lessons about womanhood and personal style that allowed her to plot her own course.
Moving seamlessly between the Volks’ Manhattan and Florida milieux and Schiap’s astonishing life in Rome and Paris (among friends such as Dalí, Duchamp, and Picasso), Shocked weaves Audrey’s traditional notions of domesticity with Schiaparelli’s often outrageous ideas into a marvel-filled, revelatory meditation on beauty, then and now, and on being a daughter, sister, and mother, even as it demonstrates how a single book can change a life.
Synopsis
From the acclaimed author of
Stuffed: an intimate, richly illustrated memoir, written with charm and panache, that juxtaposes two fascinating lives—the iconoclastic designer Elsa Schiaparelli and the author’s own mother—to explore how a girl fashions herself into a woman.
Audrey Morgen Volk, an upper-middle-class New Yorker, was a great beauty and the polished hostess at her family’s garment district restaurant. Elsa Schiaparelli—“Schiap”—the haute couture designer whose creations shocked the world, blurred the line between fashion and art, and believed that everything, even a button, has the potential to delight.
Audrey’s daughter Patricia read Schiap’s autobiography, Shocking Life, at a tender age, and was transformed by it. These two women—volatile, opinionated, and brilliant each in her own way—offered Patricia contrasting lessons about womanhood and personal style that allowed her to plot her own course.
Moving seamlessly between the Volks’ Manhattan and Florida milieux and Schiap’s life in Rome and Paris (among friends such as Dalí, Duchamp, and Picasso), Shocked weaves Audrey’s traditional notions of domesticity with Schiaparelli’s often outrageous ideas into a marvel-filled, meditation on beauty, and on being a daughter, sister, and mother, while demonstrating how a single book can change a life.
Synopsis
From the best-selling author of Stuffed, comes a richly illustrated memoir, written with charm and panache, that juxtaposes two lives--an iconoclastic Italian fashion designer and the author's mother--to explore how a girl fashions herself into a woman.Audrey Morgen Volk, an upper-middle-class New Yorker, was a great beauty and lover of fashion, and the polished hostess at her family's garment district restaurant. Elsa Schiaparelli--"Schiap"--the high-fashion designer whose creations shocked the world, broke every rule, blurred the line between fashion and art, and believed that in both fashion and life, everything, even a button, has the potential to delight. Audrey's daughter Patricia read Schiap's autobiography, Shocking Life, at a tender age, and was transformed by it. These two very different women--volatile, opinionated, and brilliant, each in her own way--offered Patricia lessons about womanhood and personal style that would stay with her throughout her life. Moving seamlessly between the Volks' Manhattan and Florida homes and Schiap's astonishing life in Rome and Paris (among friends such as Dalí, Duchamp, Picasso), Shocked weaves Audrey's notions of domesticity with Schiaparelli's often outrageous creations into a dazzling meditation on beauty, then and now, and on being a daughter, sister, and mother. It is funny, wise, and utterly delightful.
Synopsis
From the acclaimed author of
Stuffed: an intimate, richly illustrated memoir, written with charm and panache, that juxtaposes two fascinating lives—the iconoclastic designer Elsa Schiaparelli and the author’s own mother—to explore how a girl fashions herself into a woman.
Audrey Morgen Volk, an upper-middle-class New Yorker, was a great beauty and the polished hostess at her family’s garment district restaurant. Elsa Schiaparelli—“Schiap”—the haute couture designer whose creations shocked the world, blurred the line between fashion and art, and believed that everything, even a button, has the potential to delight.
Audrey’s daughter Patricia read Schiap’s autobiography, Shocking Life, at a tender age, and was transformed by it. These two women—volatile, opinionated, and brilliant each in her own way—offered Patricia contrasting lessons about womanhood and personal style that allowed her to plot her own course.
Moving seamlessly between the Volks’ Manhattan and Florida milieux and Schiap’s life in Rome and Paris (among friends such as Dalí, Duchamp, and Picasso), Shocked weaves Audrey’s traditional notions of domesticity with Schiaparelli’s often outrageous ideas into a marvel-filled, meditation on beauty, and on being a daughter, sister, and mother, while demonstrating how a single book can change a life.
About the Author
Patricia Volk is the author of the memoir
Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family and four works of fiction. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, she has written for
The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and
Playboy. She lives in New York City.